* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download What are mitochondria? Mitochondria are the
Survey
Document related concepts
Biochemistry wikipedia , lookup
Magnesium transporter wikipedia , lookup
Mitochondrion wikipedia , lookup
Expression vector wikipedia , lookup
Artificial gene synthesis wikipedia , lookup
Interactome wikipedia , lookup
Mitochondrial replacement therapy wikipedia , lookup
Protein purification wikipedia , lookup
Genomic library wikipedia , lookup
Proteolysis wikipedia , lookup
Protein–protein interaction wikipedia , lookup
Western blot wikipedia , lookup
Two-hybrid screening wikipedia , lookup
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of proteins wikipedia , lookup
Transcript
We approached our human practices project as a multifaceted education plan with two goals in mind: 1) educate the public about the potential of synthetic biology 2) create resources to improve access to synthetic biology at Queen’s U What are inteins? Inteins are amino acid sequences capable of removing themselves from proteins through a self-catalyzed splicing reaction. We believe that inteins represent an exciting and underutilized tool to alter protein characteristics in a switchable way. Science Quest At the public school level, we engaged students with simple but highly visual ways of showcasing the hidden world of genetics, and letting them speculate on the future of synthetic biology.The children were then given the opportunity to isolate DNA from bananas by themselves, which they took home after workshops on what biology means to them. Figure 1: Overview of Intein Mechanism Figure 3: Chassis Design What are mitochondria? Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell, and retain a minimal genome consisting of the information needed to produce components of the electron transport chain (ETC) Why do we care? Shad Valley Figure 2: Mutated Membrane Protein At the high school level, we worked with Shad Valley, a well-known Canadian not-for-profit educational organization, to produce workshops aimed specifically on synthetic biology and problem solving through real life applications. We presented a forensic case based on synthetic biology, as well as teaching students about common techniques used in the lab and allowed them to crack the case themselves using what they had learned. Figure 4: Final Designed BioBrick Part Mitochondrial diseases involving the ETC are difficult to treat for two reasons: 1) these genes are inherited from the mother through the cytoplasm of the ovum and have high penetrance 2) mitochondrial ETC transmembrane proteins are too hydrophobic to be allotopically expressed in the nucleus and then imported via a transit sequence Conclusion: Parts shown below were documented for the competition. Future steps include characterization of the part and efficiency assays. Following preliminary characterizations, the part would be transferred in a shuttle vector into Yeast where assays would determine the effectiveness of the entry into the mitochondria as well as ETC recovery We wish to test inteins as a tool with which limitations of organelle localization can be overcome, by altering the hydrophilicity and size of protein fragments. Our goal is to characterize inteins as a multifaceted tool that bring control of protein production and function to a posttranslational level. Contributors: Matthew C, Rishad K, Denisha P, Emily T, Jonathan A, Kersh T, Henry B, Matthew B, Yuming W, Adrina Z, Advisors: Dr. J Allingham (PI), Dr. S Archer, Dr. M Petkovitch, Dr. K Ko, Dr. Fox Additional Support: Dr. C Frazer, Amr Omer Figure 5: Final gel characterizing the size Top: Two bands, 2000 bp (vector) and 700 bp (insert) Bottom: Two bands; 2000 bp (vector) and 1500 bp (insert) Figure 6: Predicted size and characteristics of BioBrick parts Political Outreach This summer we got in touch with our local member of parliament, Ted Hsu, the liberal party’s critic for science and technology. We discussed the importance of accessibility of information regarding synthetic biology, and our program reached over 10 000 in the Kingston community, reaching more than 442 minutes of screentime. Educational Leadership in Synthetic Biology Our team has collaborated with professors at Queen’s University to introduce thinking, teaching, and learning about synthetic biology at Queen’s U. QGEM members will give “spotlight’ lectures and design problem based learning tutorials to help students explore the cutting edge of bioinformatic techniques and how to apply molecular biology to a wide variety of scientific disciplines.